


The Tale Among the Fae

by Agraulis_vanillae



Series: Faetale [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Amalgamates, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Flowey - Freeform, Gen, Lowkey Papcest, M/M, Mild Gore, Papyrus - Freeform, Souls, Swapfell Papyrus - Freeform, Swapfell Sans, Swapfell Temmie - Freeform, Swapfell Undyne, True Lab (Undertale), papcest - Freeform, trickery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-02 01:18:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13307355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agraulis_vanillae/pseuds/Agraulis_vanillae
Summary: There once was a Tale of a mortal among the fae with a soul bright with a belief in all.





	1. Papyrus in Wonderland

Modest snow white caps sprouted through the loamy soil in a ring, oriented in the middle of the darkened path of the lantern room, water lapping away at the stalks on the edges of the path. It was only with Papyrus’s sharp vision that he caught sight of the faint bioluminescent glow of the fungi when he was stopped in his search of the mysterious Temmie village to peer curiously at the ring.

 

“WOWIE, I’VE NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE… YOU MUST’VE SPROUTED OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHOULD WARN YOU! THIS IS A BAD PLACE TO BE GROWING, AS SOMEONE NOT AS OBSERVANT AS I MIGHT STEP ON YOU AND RUIN YOUR LITTLE CONGREGATION.” He gave a pat to the mushroom directly in front of him and leaped over it with a gravity defying spin mid-air. He landed and paused only for a moment as a slight breeze brushed his face, wondering idly at the sensation before continuing through the memorized path without turning on any of the lanterns. 

 

The moment he exited the room was the same moment he noticed that the scenery looked... a little different. 

 

And by a little, it was actually a lot different from the pensive place he knew as the Waterfall.

 

The path was littered with mushrooms growing in groups and the wide open space that he was expecting after the dark room was tapered into a narrow stony hallway. The air grew musty and thick, each breath weighing heavily in his chest.

 

There were light blue caps freckled with gold flecks, white caps with a woody brown stem, and some orange peels too- wait, no that’s a mushroom too?! He realized it as soon as he accidentally kicked over the vibrant folds and the orange peel cap became detached from the soil. He noted that the echo flowers didn’t look fully developed either, mere buds with tightly folded petals peeped out of the leaves cautiously as if in hiding. Did he make a wrong turn in the lantern room and discover a new part of the Underground?

 

Unlike other rooms in the Underground, this cavern seemed like it stretched on forever. If it went on unnoticed, then it was a pretty big oversight for the monsters that lived in the Waterfall. It was more likely that this would be where Temmie village is! Determined to see the elusive monster settlement, Papyrus trotted further into the room, expecting at any moment to start seeing Temmies hanging around. 

 

Instead, the mushrooms seemed to multiply, groups of two or three becoming clusters of five or six, and less echo flowers were cropping up along the path. The moisture in the atmosphere intensified, water running down the walls then pooling, collectively rising past the heels of his boots and lapping in quiet rhythmic waves. Stalactites on the ceiling reached far down to the stalagmites on the ground, forever reaching with a gleaming refractive rainbow radiating through them where the bioluminescence of the mushrooms had touched them. Despite the awesome display of refracted light shining, a feeling of loneliness washed over him, and Papyrus turned to look uneasily down the path he came from. It was…

 

…too quiet.

 

He could only hear the motion of water running through the place, minor echoes throwing his footsteps back at him in warped waves like a auditory shadow following behind.

 

He’d walked so far in an unyieldingly straight path, but the cavern was large and dimly lit so that he couldn’t see where he had come from. It was strange to see that the Waterfall area was so much bigger than he’d anticipated. And where was Temmie village? He heard it was close to the lantern room but time here seemed to hold its breath and stretch along with each step. 

 

A single blooming echo flower interrupted his train of thought as he stopped and stared. Without having consciously realized it, he became accustomed to the sight of mushrooms in place of echo flowers. As if sensing his presence, a high reedy voice jeered from the folds of the bloom-

 

*Hello mortal, welcome to the fae realm where everything is fun and games~ Until it’s not, that is, eheheh.

 

Papyrus nearly opened his mouth and ruined the echo, barely catching himself in time with a low hiccup of breath. Instead, he chose to sit next to the flower and listen to the message repeat itself. He’s heard of fairytales of course, but he never expected to find himself in one! He now had to weigh his options carefully. If he went back, he might be able to return to the Waterfall he knew, but it was never so simple in the stories. People who go back in the stories, tend to find that their starting point has disappeared and that they have become hopelessly lost.

 

He also hadn’t satisfied his curiosity- there ought to be an end to this corridor! Furthermore, he might find more echo flowers and learn more about how he came to be in such a place.

 

His decision made, he advanced past the echo flower, only to hear a change in the echo a few yards away. He turned back, wondering if the cavern wasn’t warping the sound like his footsteps. But then the echo played again,

 

*First rule: Do not eat anything, as you cannot leave if you do. Second rule: Make no deals, expect no favors. 

 

“THAT’S CERTAINLY OMINOUS AND ALL, BUT WHAT I REALLY NEED TO KNOW IS HOW I’M TO GET OUT OF HERE? BACK THE WAY I CAME, OR FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD?” Papyrus inquired, waiting for a response and getting nothing but his own echo. He huffed. Maybe a straightforward response was too much to ask for, he probably will have to continue exploring on his own. “WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE CREEPY ADVICE! I’LL BE ON MY WAY THEN.”

 

He walked only a further more before the jeering tone ceased, suddenly a low hesitant whisper. He couldn’t tell what it was saying at first, and was forced to return to the flower once more. Leaning in closely, he finally registered what the whisper was saying-

 

*Third rule: Your reflection is not to be trusted.

 

“EXCUSE ME?” He stopped in his tracks, only to have the echo change once more.

 

*EXCUSE ME?

 

*EXCUSE ME?

 

*EXCUSE ME?

 

He turned to advance down the path once more, making a point not to turn back and see if the flower was going to say anything different- after all he’s going to be here all day if it’s going to spout cryptic warnings the whole time! The path remained uniform, though Papyrus made a point to check the walls and the wet ground anyways. Soon, he was wading through a couple of inches deep of water, and there was nothing on the ground but more fungi and underwater grass. However pretty they were, the stalactite and stalagmite formations offered no break in the monotony. Papyrus was just about ready to turn around when the cave finally forked.

 

He leaned one way to peer down the path, and then the other way, trying to decide on the best course of action. He had to come up with a foolproof solution for getting lost now, especially if the paths were to split again… ah! He was so clever! He summoned a bone construct, and approaching the wall, he carved “THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS HERE.”

 

Now he’ll be able to orient himself based on which wall his mark was on and prevent himself from getting lost that way! 

 

Pleased with his excellent and decisive choice in signature, he pranced down the right path only for the cavern to suddenly widen out and the depth of the water increasing so that it spilled over the edges of his boots. He stumbled from the unexpected drop under his feet, the floor incongruous with what he could see through the water. The flow of water intensified into a rush that forced his knees to buckle while the sediment under his boots eroded with shocking swiftness so that he fell face-first into the stream of water. Before he could flail upright, the cavern river dragged him across the thick sediment that clouded the water around him, and in a few feet the water poured off the edge of a sharp cliff while taking the bug-eyed Papyrus with it. 

 

“NYEEEEE-!” He screeched as water crashed around him.

 

He sailed halfway down the slope before regaining himself and twisting upright so that his boots skated over the slippery rock jutting out instead of his skull and flying out into the clear underground lake below with an engulfing splash. His eyelights could not penetrate through the impossibly clear darkness around him, the chilling water all around him. His breath traveled past his skull, seemingly in contrast to how he entered the pool but he knew better from training with Undyne. He followed the path of those clear bubbles, resisting the pull of water.

 

He broke through the surface with a feeling of someone caressing the length of his jaw, water pouring off of him until it slowed to beads rolling down his skull. Despite how opaque the water seemed while he was submerged, he could see the bottom perfectly as he treaded the surface. In fact the flora that grew there seemed much closer than it could possibly be when he first fell in, tendrils of water hyacinth roots wrapping around his boots and pulling at them.

 

All around him, the water shimmered, casting auras of light and catching his breath with the show. He glanced up, meaning only to see if there was another path that separated from here and nearly sunk back into the water as he went perfectly rigid with shock.

 

The reflection of light hit the ceiling with crystalline clarity, and it mirrored the bottom of the Underground lake. In place of plants, decomposing monsters lay at the lake’s floor, reaching for Papyrus with mute desire. Dust drifted as a swirling mist through the water, obscuring more the further down he tried to see. A pale blue water hyacinth with glossy green leaves that floated on the surface became a shyren in the reflection, wide sorrowful fish eyes bloodshot, meek grin torn open into a gaping yowl and unexpectedly invading his space.

 

“I APOLOGISE, BUT IT SEEMS YOU'VE GOTTEN THE WRONG IMPRESSION ABOUT WHY THE GREAT PAPYRUS FINDS HIMSELF HERE TODAY.” He treads the water to avoid the fine mist of Shyren’s dust and hair, seeing only the tangled tendrils of plant roots when he looked back down.His voice cracked uneasily as he murmured, “IN FACT I WAS JUST ON MY WAY OUT…”

 

He waded back into the edges of the lake, growing dizzy as he stared up into the ceiling to track his progress simultaneously with the macabre procession following him out. He twisted to look up into the water pouring into his face, trying to determine where he may find a foothold when he partially drifted into the clear waterfall. Movement darted furtively in the corner of his vision, drawing his eyelights away for just a moment as he tried to identify the source.

 

He was pulled harshly through the waterfall, crying out and landing on his back onto a surprisingly solid surface, water lapping beseechingly around his hips. As Papyrus became aware that he had been pulled through into the other side of the waterfall, his head ringing from slamming against harsh rock and the sound of crashing water. The wall of liquid in front of him gleamed with magic, a round bubble of water forming a face, then the neck, shoulders, chest followed as a shape loomed over him. Their face was his own, eyesockets closed, cracks running through with reddened magic searing through them. Then the rest of his form became defined as Papyrus sat up, drawing closer, “W-WHO… ARE YOU?”

 

The gravity defying position gave way so that his own self crumpled on top of him, head falling over his shoulder and the sudden weight pushing him back down. Papyrus blinked away the tears in his eyes, rubbing the sharp pain at the back of his skull as the clone of himself that had appeared leaned on their palms so that their skulls were close as he whispered-

 

“be still papyrus, the naiads track movement.”

 

His own voice didn’t sound right to him, rough and gravelly as if he was the one that had been fished out from the bottom of the lake. Papyrus wanted to ask what the naiads were, but his other self seized his face with alarming alacrity once he opened his jaw, and pressed his teeth against his. Warmth glided over his teeth from his other self’s tongue, soft and wet, probing-

 

In a moment of stunned panic, Papyrus lightly slapped his other clone and squirmed out from under him. The look on his own face was mildly puzzled, eyes widened in a show of innocent surprise as if that wasn’t the reaction he was expected.

 

Feeling heat dance across his cheekbones, Papyrus stuttered, “I-I’M SORRY! I, UH… HAVETOGOBYE!”

 

Papyrus leaped to his feet, skidding across the wet calcified surface of the cavern underneath the waterfall and turning on his heel to flee down the open path, the sloshing of his boots audible over the sounds of the waterfall and the drifting upset of the lake behind it. 

 

The fae left behind him pressed a thumb to his teeth, the wide eyed-surprise settling into a calculating thoughtfulness, “was that perhaps..? his first kiss..?”

 

“m’lord… what do you think?”

 

 


	2. The Mirrors of the True Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mirrors reflect the truth of the world around him, yet...
> 
>  
> 
> Y̨̯̹ͅo҉̥͚͈̗͡u̼̦ ͎̺̞̠̟̝c̣̞̫̻͖̝̭͍͘a͢͜ͅn̩̫͔͠ ͟҉̹͠n̢͉̩̪͝o͔̼̞͎͚͇̮͔t͔̪̙̤̣͡ ̖̘̞̞t̸̶̹͠r̴͓̺͉̙̬͖̻̭u҉͎̟̝̝̭̝s̨͕̺̰̖̺͈̯̘͉t̸͎͡ ̢̰̜͔͍͎͔̜y̶̡̗̙̳͇̣͕ơ̶̦̣͠u̴̹͎̦̙̪̜͉͡r҉̜̘̩̥͖͈̰̻ ̢̜̩̞͔̥̤̥͓̙o̶͞҉̠͔̰͖w̢̼̯͎̮͍͙͉͟͝ͅn̛̦̳ ͎͖r̩̯͈e͞҉͓͍̲̫̫f̫̗͎͎͉̟ͅl̛̦̲̣͍̬̥͔̼̠e̺͔̮͔̲͎̙c̷̵̼̻̤̠͈̦͞t̶̗̯͎̰̟̱͍̮ͅi̙̱̲̻̮̟o̵҉̱͈̩̞̠͕n̸̗̣͇̝̺͉̖.̩

He knows he shouldn’t be running so recklessly when he has no idea where he’s going but he can’t help it! No one’s ever kissed him like that before, and frankly he wasn’t expecting a clone of himself to show up out of a waterfall to begin with! This wasn’t anything quite like the stories he’s heard. 

 

Water dripped from his clothes, only adding to the ambient humidity, the surrounding fluid that rolled down the walls. Eventually he stopped, catching his breath and becoming more aware of the roots that maintained the walls around him. One set of roots that grew down from the ceiling with the thin tangles hanging from the wall in ropes, were a pulsing luminescent blue. He could barely hear the echo playing again and again.

 

*remember the rules

 

*remember the rules

 

*remember-

 

Papyrus stepped past the roots quickly, his previous shock fading away quickly to be replaced by a pulse of HOPE and DETERMINATION. If he was backtracking past the echo flower, then he’ll be on his way back in no time! There was only one problem with that, a problem that presented itself with no immediate resolution. 

 

The path he was now on split into four messy exit points. There was a part of the cavern trail that fell through the floor, into darkness, a turn on his right side only five paces that became a spiraling staircase downwards, and then a forked path. None of these paths led up, only remained level or fell further down. “I ALMOST WISH I ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS BEFORE THAT OTHER SELF KISSED ME…” Papyrus mused to himself.

 

For so many different paths, there was no clear way to his goal. He chose to wander through the left side of the forked path, only to immediately come across a dead end filled with pale midnight-rimmed toadstools. None of the fungi formed a ring, but they did emit a sweet scent throughout the room that made Papyrus sleepy. The effect wasn’t immediately recognizable, but as he studied the dead end for any clues or hidden exits, his boot kicked one of the caps. It emitted a fine spray of feathery violet powder that filled the air. Papyrus sneezed, taken aback by the unexpected attack, and nearly fell over.

 

As he straightened upright again, he was struck with a rapidly deepening feeling of vertigo.

 

He backed out, and staggered into the path nearby, his wet clothes growing heavier and more cumbersome as his body locked and trembled unwillingly. The world around him spun, his knees buckling underneath him and he leaned heavily into the damp wall. He barely felt his still-aching skull hit the saturated soil, raising a gloved hand to grasp at the lights dancing before him, watching himself with a vague wonder.

 

“OH SANS…IT’S STRANGE BUT I’M GOING TO TAKE A NAP…”

 

A light rhythmic step drifted throughout the hall, and before Papyrus’s eyelids close shut he sees a white labcoat stopping in front of him, a familiar voice in the distance saying-

 

“Don’t forget, Papyrus.”

 

~

 

When he became aware of his surroundings once more, he wasn’t in a damp tunnel anymore, but a hard cold metallic table and bright artificial lights. “NYEH, WHEN DID MY BROTHER’S BAD HABITS RUB OFF ON ME..?” Papyrus mumbled, cringing at the intensity of the light before he leans over the edge of the table. The floor seemed to sway far away, before it fixed in place. With a feeling of detachment from his own limbs, he swung his boots over the edge, and started truly coming to only once he felt that the ground really was beneath his feet. “WHERE DID I FALL ASLEEP..?”

 

“How are you doing, Papyrus?” the voice sounded next to him, and he squarked, nearly falling off the examination table. He knew that voice, but it didn’t prepare him for seeing his best friend in a lab coat, her hair in a messy bun and glasses on her face.

 

“UNDYNE! WHEN DID YOU YOU BECOME A SCIENTIST?!.. AND IS THAT GLASSES?” He asked, squinting at her. The unreal feeling returned with a vengeance,  “WERE YOU PLAYING DRESS UP WITH ALPHYS?”

 

“Ufufufu… never mind that. You had a very close call, haven’t you?” She stood up, brushing something unseen off of her immaculate white coat, and sitting next to him on the table with a sympathetic smile. “You nearly met with a terrible fate.”

 

“I… WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Papyrus asked, fighting to keep suspicion out of his voice. She might just be concerned, although this wasn’t a side of Undyne he’d ever seen before. Undyne concerned usually meant that she raced over to his side and physically threw him over her shoulders, so that she could pull him out of harm’s way until she could assess that he was indeed okay. The process of doing so often caused him more pain than the event that caused Undyne concern to begin with, but he appreciated her worrying nonetheless.

 

“I was watching you back in the Lake. You didn’t get far before you were nearly captured by one of our kind, but luckily you have quick reflexes.” Undyne explained. She leaned forward over the chair that was situated next to the table Papyrus was sitting on.. “Unluckily, you picked the incorrect path, and were nearly captured by them as a result. Yet, luckily, I was able to come out and pull you into safety before they could come along.”

 

She closes her eyes- eyes? Undyne always had a patch over one eye and to see both eyes was strange enough. However, one of her normally golden eyes had black irises with a white glowing pupil was rather unsettling for Papyrus, but he chose only to focus on the familiar golden eye of Undyne. Her growing smile remained modest though, her sharp teeth remaining hidden. It felt secretive. “You may very well be unlucky yet. You will need to hide here to avoid their clutches, but I’ll do my best to aid you.” 

 

She stood up, brushing her coat off again. Papyrus wondered what she was trying to dislodge when her labcoat looked so clean. “Would you like a cup of tea? Or perhaps some hot chocolate, a soda?”   
  


“NO THANK YOU???” Papyrus still felt somewhat dizzy from stumbling into the fungi trap, and a little hungover. He would rather not hurl if he could avoid it, but wasn’t sure how this odd version of Undyne would handle rejection.

 

Her restrained smile broke into a wide grin that was so familiar on that face, and Undyne clenched a fist affirmatively, “Good boy. Remember the rules.”

 

She left, and he bounced in place excitedly at the praise. This version of Undyne wasn’t so different after all! She was a little weird, but so was his other self. At least she didn’t try to kiss him. His excitement waned soon after, as he realized, “WAIT, WAS THAT A TEST?”

 

After the clock ticked to the new hour, a low chime sounding, he got curious about the space around him. There were beds scattered all around him, and a couple of different exits from the room outside of the one that Undyne had strolled out of. The beds were mostly made, though some of the sheets were torn, the bare mattress peeking from underneath.

 

Otherwise, the lab was clean. Her reasons for placing him on the examination table instead of a bed were unclear, but Papyrus opted to trust her. He was put off by the sour taste lingering in his mouth, not certain when he would've manifested a tongue while unconscious but he needed to wash the flavor out. 

 

He hopped out of the bed, feeling better about the situation, and wandered into the hallway tied to the room. This wasn't anything he remembered from Undyne’s house, was this what her room looked like? It didn't seem likely, she didn't let anyone in her room, so maybe she had a super secret hidden door puzzle? Hopefully she had a bathroom or a sink nearby…

 

There was a different kind of eerie feeling that saturated the air of Undyne’s secret lair, one that couldn’t be pinpointed straight off except that sound seemed to stray from its owner only to come back, a delay in the echo of his steps. He turned to the right, pushing open the door only to immediately assaulted by the sound of whispers carrying past the bathtub curtains. A figure swung in place like a upside down clock pendulum ticking. He dared one step in, casting his gaze around the room, only for the figure to writhe more intensely in response. No sinks, just an extreme feeling of intruding on something.

 

“SORRY!” He dared to say aloud, and beat a hasty retreat. The whispers halted even before he closed the door, and he sighed as he pressed his back to the door. Maybe that wasn’t the right path. He returned to the previous room, the table he woke up on no longer illuminated. He wondered if Undyne was looking for him. There was only the path that she exited from, and the other path, so maybe she came back in. He wanted to ask her where a sink was, and decided to check the other room to see if she was there.

 

“UNDYNE..? ARE YOU IN HERE?” He called into the room, shyly stepping in the first step and then pausing at the sight of the mirrored hallway. They reflected a long table propping countless Temmies, some of them tilted over on their side, others turned around, stuffing spilling out.

 

They were dolls, not Temmie monsters as Papyrus had previously encountered very occasionally in the Waterfall that he was familiar with. He stepped into the room, more and more questions roiling through his mind. The line of Temmie dolls was endless, and he touched one gently, seeing its blankly cheery expression remained despite the deadly slash cutting underneath the chin and nearly taking off its head.

 

It didn’t seem right for the dolls to be abused like that, and he began checking the table for anything that could be used to put it back together, tape, needle and thread, anything. He felt the whispers starting up once more, but as he raised his eyelights to check his surroundings, there was no one in the room but him, his reflection, and the Temmie dolls. It’s become increasingly clear that Undyne was not here. 

 

He walks down the path of the room, the mirrors breaking up momentarily, and advanced past the final set heedless of his reflection. The next room was a dead end, a blinking lock and key system shown to be active. A scrap of paper was off in the corner, apparently forgotten. He picks it up temporarily, recognizing Undyne’s writing.

 

**_Cut me up_ **

 

**_Sew me back_ **

 

**_Slash my face into four_ **

 

**_Reflect my CORE_ **

 

**_Cut me up_ **

 

**_Cut_ **

**_  
_ ** **_Cut_ **

 

**_Cut_ **

 

M̧̋̃ͮ̍͐͐ͫ͏̼̞̙͕ ̵̻̗̇ͧ̚͞y̫̠͙̓̎ͫ͐̈ͬ̐͗ ͈͉ͩ͋͂̓̑͛͐ͪ̚Ç̣̲͓͛ ͔̼͙͚̹̮̅̽ͯ̒̂ͯ͠ ̷̣̦̺̞̰͕͔͛͆̐ͬ̋̎͆ͅO͙̩͈̤̞̠͎̠͕̾̿͑ͫ ̧̩̺̒̓ͭ̀̋̏̚͟ ͈̩͔͙̯͚̭̉̾͗ͨ̅ ̡̯͖͕̙͕͍̠͙ͣ̍̅̀͌̂́ͧ̚R͚͓͓̖̜ͧ̅̿͆ͫ͂̕ ̭̯͇͚͍͙̜̍ͬ͊ͮ͋̌ͬ́͠ ̫̰͕̩̓ͪ̓̊͌̋͒͘ ̨̗͉͍̦͐ͬͣ͑ ͍̺͓͋̿͞ͅ ̷͍̝̫͕̪̜͇̄ͤ̏̊̔E̴̵̦̊͗

 

A shock of pain resonated through his skull, causing him to stumble back and drop the paper he was holding, screwing his eyesockets closed for a moment. Eventually, the sensation faded, leaving a throbbing headache in its place.

Maybe Undyne needed to talk about something. He didn’t recognize the frantic tone with which it was written, nor the way the writing tapered off abruptly mid-thought as if someone shut off a machine. It became clear that Undyne perhaps wasn’t who he was used to in this world, but he still believed that there was a part of his friend there. She was helping him after all.

He spotted something in the corner of the room under the low glow of the analog lock,and with a start he realized it was another Temmie doll. Unlike the other dolls, this one had the slashes in its body sewn up, all the way to the mouth and eyes. A sewing needle was buried into the stomach, and one of the eyes was almost torn open with a seam ripper buried into it. Undyne had been… working on it, for lack of a kinder phrase.

 

Carefully, he extracted the needle from the dolls stomach and the seam ripper from the eye, feeling a tad squeamish as the seam ripper pulled the fabric, oddly stuck as if the fabric was damp. A dark substance coated the point, unidentifiable under the light.

 

He felt eyes watching him almost immediately after they were removed, though he couldn’t tell where from. The ruins of the dolls eye certainly wouldn’t be able to see, and the other eye was still sewn up. It made him a little nervous, a tad guilty for having contributed to the degradation of the doll’s condition, and he turned the little thing in his hands.

 

“MAYBE… I CAN HELP..?”

 

He started first by cutting the thread attached to the body, and then pulled the seam ripper up to the mouth. At first, the tip of the tool just snagged on the fabric of the doll, the stitches were pulled so tight around the mouth, but with careful patience, he was able to push the sharp blade through half the stitches at once. Like magic, the stitches released the bunched fabric, leaving only thread hanging out of wrinkled velveteen. He removed the remaining stitches manually, crossing his legs as he sat on the floor to focus, and finally the Temmie’s simple little cat smile appeared. 

 

He smiled in return, then worked the stitches out from around the eye so that the black button was no longer buried, glimmering under the analog light. The Temmie looked better already, though there was no rescuing the other eye, fabric too horribly mangled to successfully attach another button, it seemed much more lively without stitches all over. He set it down with a gentle pat, and resolved to do the same for the other Temmies.

 

Exiting the room and walking past the mirrors, movement caught his gaze, and Papyrus opened his mouth to greet Undyne-

 

Oh? It was the Temmie whose face he unstitched, that sat at the other end of the hall. He cocked his head in puzzlement, and caught sight of the mirror’s reflection.

 

In Temmie’s place, there was a child monster instead. Arrows pierced through their once green and yellow shirt, blood long crusted in their fur and the shirt and pants stiff with dried gore. Something stringy and shrunken peeked from their belly, black and crumpled underneath the ruins of their shirt, and one rustic arrow in particular jutted out from an empty socket. Their body trailed dust and ruin as they moved forward in the mirrors, a ghastly apparition that hissed in a familiar voice-

 

“You IDIOT!!! Don’t stand in front of the mirror!!!”

 

Papyrus was pulled forward with an impossibly long paw stretching forward from the Temmie and yanked out of the mirror room with no ceremony. The Temmie grimaced, an ugly animate expression compounded by fear and paranoia that flashed through their little eyes. “Didn’t I tell you?!”

 

Papyrus stuttered, taken aback by what he’s seen in the mirror. “T-TELL ME?”

 

“Don’t trust your reflection!” Temmie declared. “You nearly summoned HIM again! Isn’t it bad enough you decided to take a bath in the Lake of Souls?!”

 

That voice… he heard it from the echo flower before. 

 

He didn’t have much time to reflect on this revelation, as the whispers that were at a low murmur before were growing. Papyrus still didn’t see where they were coming from- until he did, as one of the creatures apparated with flickering hesitation near the bed. Others were forming out of odd furniture that he’d never noticed until this moment, but as soon as the shapeless monsters came oozing into existence the whispers became distinct.

  
“...my hell, welcome…”

 

“Your soul… your soul shines…”

 

“Don’t believe… lose all belief… lose everything…”

 

Papyrus was suddenly getting mobbed by amalgamates of monsters, one of them drooling a mysterious oozing substance, and without any idea what to do with the unexpected yet agitated arrivals he reached to pat them. Instead, Temmie pulled his hand aside, and hissed in a stage whisper, “This way mortal!”

 

“WHAT’S THIS WAY???” Papyrus asked, but followed nonetheless. Before he exited the room after the Temmie, he waved sheepishly and skedaddled on, the writhing amalgamates watching him go.

 

“She’s coming…”

 

~

 

They crept along the halls, Papyrus felt like he was filled to the brim of questions about this place and why they were sneaking, but Temmie raised a little paw up to their mouth and pressed against the wall. They seemed to be listening to some piece of conversation floating beyond it, Undyne’s shrill voice accompanied by someone familiar but Papyrus was too distracted by the drop in temperature to identify who. Cautiously, he pressed his hand to the wall, only to take it away quickly, feeling the moisture on his palm suddenly stick.

 

What was left was a frozen imprint from his glove.

 

Meanwhile, Temmie hissed underneath their breath. “Shoot! We gotta scram, now!”

 

Clearly alarmed, they darted forward into another branching hallway past the elevator as fast as their little legs could carry them, and Papyrus scooped them up as he overtook them and dashed into the room that they were headed. There was a large intimidating machine shaped like a ram’s head, but no time to examine it any further as Temmie pointed urgently to the room ahead.

 

They ran in, and skittered across the floor to wedge themselves behind one of the fridges. Temmie’s breath came in pants, although they hadn’t done most of the running, they were pressed into his chest trembling. It was from there that their muffled voice came tremulously, “Don’t let that Sans catch you.”

 

“SANS?!” Papyrus exclaimed, but Temmie shushed him with a scary look.

 

“Yes, Sans, now shut UP you idiot! Are you trying to lose your sou-” he hushed quickly, eyes wide at the stray sounds creeping up. It was not the amalgamates, nor Undyne as no one came from the entrance, but it seemed to emit from the plumbing of the sinks across from them. First thing that Papyrus noticed was that one of the sinks had a leak, drip drip dripping into a puddle on the floor. It was from this puddle that the odd sound persisted, like crackling.

 

The puddle seemed to spread unnaturally across the floor, but as it crept closer, he saw that it was icing over, expanding and pushing the water out.

 

As if forgetting to take their own advice, Temmie informed Papyrus with a low murmur, “He’s close…”

 

The puddle froze over completely, and in its place was a perfectly reflective surface that seemed as if a piece of the ceiling was now part of floor. If not for Temmie’s enraptured fright, Papyrus wouldn’t have known to be as impressed as he was. 

 

Footsteps sounded in the hallways, the sound seeming to magnify in the hollow halls. They were getting closer, and closer, a angry voice demanding explanation. The tone that carried was one of frustration, as if the speaker knew there was something they weren’t seeing and couldn’t quite solve the puzzle.

 

Eventually, the footsteps faded, and with it so did the intensity of the conversation. The disgruntled mutters fell silent at last.

 

In those moments, time seemed to stretch onto forever, but in truth it was probably about thirty minutes by Papyrus’s estimate when the puddle seemed to defrost and the water resumed dripping from the sink.

 

Temmie finally smiled tentatively, right before the newest sound ringing through the halls of the laboratory made them cringe right back into Papyrus’s arms with renewed alarm. 

 

“Fuhuhuhu… heh… hu…” Undyne’s laughter sounded decidedly disturbed. Worried, Papyrus stood up to go greet her, but Temmie rebuked him harshly.

 

“Are you stupid?!? Does that sound like a good time to have a tea party with? She’s switching on us, and not to the nice personality you knew back there!”

 

“BUT… SHE SOUNDS UPSET.” Papyrus responded. “IF UNDYNE NEEDS HELP, THEN I OUGHT TO HELP HER. I AM HER FRIEND AFTER ALL.”

 

“Listen… mortal. I have to tell you something essential, since it seems like you haven’t figured it out already. That fae in the other room is NOT this Undyne. The fae that looks like you, obviously, isn’t you. Sans the fae, is NOT your Sans. Whoever these people are to you in your life, are not the same as the fae’s glamour. They are only similar personalities, ones that are convenient to shapeshift to in order to lower your guard, nothing more.” Temmie explained, voice a hoarse murmur, expression shadowed. “If you go to help the fae in the other room, you WILL lose your soul. Maybe even lose your body, to become one with an amalgamate.”

 

“I… I KNOW…” Papyrus’s shoulders slumped. “BUT I DO NOT LIKE TO SEE ANYONE SO UPSET.”

 

Temmie sighed, as if the weight of the world rested on their shoulders. “I hate to say it, but you need to see something. Stay close, and for the star’s sakes, don’t be seen!”

 

They crept along, following the low giggle the bubbled from Undyne’s trembling figure. She paused in the room that Papyrus had lain in, swaying in place. The giggling abated, long enough for her soft whispers to carry through the seemingly empty space.

 

“He’s gone…”

 

She staggered from the space to the mirrored hallway, and Temmie held up a paw, signifying to wait before they followed through. There was no way to hide in such a wide open space, but for the beds, so Papyrus had to use all of his stealth to crawl across from bed to bed until they finally reached the cracked door.

 

Undyne was ripping and tearing through the temmie dolls with gusto, stuffing coming out from the slits of their necks as she jerked a sharp shining scalpel through the fabric. However, as she dragged the scalpel through the belly of the same doll, a soft sand-like substance came pouring out and fell around her in clouds. Papyrus raised a hand to his mouth to muffle the sharp intake of breath as he caught sight of her reflection. 

 

The dark figure crouched in the dusty bloodstained labcoat was unrecognizable. Only the reversed eye remained true to the figure that Papyrus first saw, but it was the sound she was emitting that made him advance forward despite the danger.

 

In those giggling hiccups, he heard sobs.

 

“I DIDN’T GO ANYWHERE, UNDYNE.” He called softly, and she/the figure in the mirror whirled to face him. He held his arms out for a embrace, not quite daring to look at the scalpel. “I DIDN’T LEAVE YOU.”

 

The eye fixated on him watered. “Where did you go?”

 

He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted with a loud wail and the eviscerated temmie being flung from her grasp as she buried her head into his chestplate. After a few minutes of rubbing her back and making soft comforting sounds, the tears abated much to his relief. But what she said next unsettled him once more,

 

“You have to go.”

 

“WHY?” He questioned, but a part of him knew as she looked up. The darkness in her alternate eye was expanding, the black veins cracking across the sclera with startling clarity. 

 

“It’s not safe here for your soul-  _ I’m _ not safe for you.”

 

“UNDYNE…”

 

“The Undyne you know… you’re close to her, are you not? Save your friendship for her.” She spat, stalking back across the room. “AND DON’T YOU DARE STAND HERE A MINUTE LONGER!” She pushed him back with the startling strength that he knew his Undyne would be capable of, forcing him out of the room completely.

 

“GO!!!” She roared. “I DON’T WANT TO SEE THAT SICKENING HUE OF YOUR SOUL A MOMENT LONGER!!!”

 

He spared her one last long look of sad empathy, before finally racing out after the white darting shadow of Temmie. 

 

“I don’t want to be tempted… but it’s so warm…” The form of Undyne croaked, and soon it began staggering about once more, cackling at all the dust that clung to its figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'know, I think this is the first time I've written about true lab, even in this roundabout way! I'm glad, it's a whole section of the game that often ends up being ignored particularly in regards to Alphys, Toriel, and Asgore, and Flowey/Asriel as we see a lot of their character development there. Next chapter finishes up this little project of mine! Be sure to stay tuned, and cross your fingers for Papyrus to make it out safely! (Or y'know, don't. Hehe.)


	3. False Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do not trust the reflection of the world around you.

The moment Papyrus darted out the door, he had to leap to avoid trampling Temmie who had stopped in their tracks. 

 

“This is bad…”

 

All around them, snow drifted lazily to and fro, frost creeping up the edges of the walls containing the Waterfall area. Where there was water, had been frozen over completely, leaving only glassy reflective surfaces. From beside him, Papyrus could see his appearance warping, eyelights turning a burnt orange and he began backing into the door of Undyne’s house.

 

“I-IT LOOKS LIKE… SNOWDIN IN HERE…” He stammered, taken completely back by the massive change in the chilling atmosphere. From the door directly behind him, a low giggle sounded.

 

“Fuhuhu…”

 

The door suddenly splintered outward right in his peripheral, cold metal glinting as it grated and rocked in place, caught momentarily before slipping out. Papyrus squawked in response and jumped away from the door swinging open.

 

“…I missed. I should be a better aim next time… nonetheless…” Undyne stood in the doorway, her messy red hair obscuring her face in oily strings but failing to obscure the obsidian black eye. “It’s unfortunate Papyrus, but you’re about to meet with a terrible fate.”

 

“RUN!!!” Temmie shouted, and like that Papyrus bolted. All around him, iced over rivulets and streams pouring down the caverns reflected his progress in a dizzying kaleidoscope of himself at different angles. He only had the vaguest idea where he might be headed, his internal compass telling him that the lantern room had been in this direction, but the frozen reflections around him were disorienting.

 

And where did Temmie go?

 

He skidded to a halt in front of the pond that spanned across the room, his reflection looking side to side frantically with him as he realized that as soon as he’d begun he no longer saw his little stuffed animal friend. Undyne’s laughter could no longer be heard either. 

 

“TEMMIE..?” he called hesitantly, afraid to attract attention, but equally afraid of losing his ally. He was not breathing hard due to rigorous training, but his breaths were coming out in long trailing huffs as the moisture in the air condensed. All around him, he could feel the temperature drop with supernatural speed. 

 

A sneaking movement drew his eye back to the pond, and with a start he saw that his reflection was now moving independently of him and reaching _ through _ the surface.

 

He really couldn’t trust his reflection!

 

One step back, then two, seeing the reflection continue to morph and shift out of the shape in the pond, Papyrus was forced to give up his brief search for Temmie and run away once more. It seemed no matter where he turned though, his reflection running with him was transforming. There was nowhere safe to go, except where there could be no light to reflect!

 

Like a puzzle with a difficult piece suddenly coming into place, Papyrus knew he had to get to the darkness of the lantern room even if there was no portal back. He renewed his run with vigor, red scarf fluttering with him as he progressed through the next room with record speed, a icy current seeming to fight him every step of the way and yet failing to present any true impediment to his progress. 

 

So sure of the soundness of his logic that he forgot to notice how his reflection had flattened back into his own, and with his final steps he was inside the darkest room of the Underground. The lanterns were not set properly in place this time though, but gathered around a single point, casting the lone figure in sharp relief against the frozen reeds and frosted toadstools.

 

They turned towards him, causing a sharp twinge in Papyrus’s soul as he recognized his brother’s face with foreign purple eyelights and a petrifyingly intense aura. “SANS?!”

 

“BROTHER… IS THIS THE MORTAL THAT HAS CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION? YOU MUST CAPTURE HIM NOW, AND BRING HIM TO ME. DO NOT MAKE ME WAIT.” The fae commanded imperiously, his gaze pinning Papyrus to the spot. His mind reeled as he registered the level of LOVE this Sans had.

 

“as you wish.” the soft voice rebounded from all directions. 

 

“BIG BROTHER… PLEASE…”  he didn’t recognize his own voice, faint and uncertain. Papyrus’s eyelights faded as he fell under the hypnosis of Sans’s flashing purple and midnight eye, and fell forward.

 

A strong arm scooped him up as his knees buckled under his weight, then scooped him up.The fae wearing his brother’s face ordered, “TO HERE, GROVELING MUTT. WE MUST MAKE PLANS.”

 

~

  
  


It wasn’t long before Papyrus came to once more, though he could not recognize quite where he might be in the Underground anymore. The ceiling visible through blurry vision was sparkling with starlight stones that suggested that they were in the Waterfall, yet the delicate snowflakes lit upon his cheekbones and forehead with a regularity that he knew only in Snowdin. 

 

For a moment, he tried to sit up only to find that he was being possessively held in place.

 

“ssh… you must stay still while m’lord works.” The voice of his other self whispered, nuzzling his teeth to his skull. The other self held an arm across his shoulders and held him closely. Papyrus blinked the stars from his vision and slowly looked around. 

 

The water had completely frozen beneath and round them, forming a crystallized tower that had them suspended far above the floor of the cavern where a impressive formation of spikes grew, dissuading the many echo flowers that grew around them. In the middle of such a show of aquatic crystalline splendor was Sans, shaping the structure itself. Whispers grew around the cavern, to a low murmur, and with a start Papyrus realized that they were being watched as the walls had frozen into mirrors that showed the true nature of the echo flowers.

 

Fae.

 

They were all around them, shifting shadows that formed into familiar figures and chattered restlessly among themselves. That ceased immediately as the burnt orange glow of Papyrus’s reflection jutted out from all directions with synchronized snap and pinned each occupant to its place, trapped in place. 

 

Papyrus froze at the display of raw power the duo showed,mind working overtime to provide an escape route, but surrounded by mirrors he would only be recaptured once more. Body tense, and breath catching, he felt himself begin to panic.

 

“THANK YOU FOR THAT, MY LOWLY MUTT.” Sans turned, violet eyes wide and twinkling now with private mirth. “OUR GUESTS MAKE FOR A POOR AUDIENCE, BUT THEY SHALL DO UNTIL OUR SHOW MAKES IT TO THE CAPITOL.”

 

“yes, m’lord. there are none so worthy to receive such a soul as this, not even the king.” Hands groped past Papyrus’s armor, cold bony phalanges registering against bare bone, and Papyrus thrashed hard to get free.

  
“H-HEY WAIT NO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Papyrus protested. “THAT’S MY SPACE, NOT YOURS!”

 

His breath hitched as bone scraped intrusively against the inside of his ribs as the larger fae tightened his grip on them with one hand, and lifting the shell of the armor with the other. The mutt breathed against his bare neck, Papyrus’s struggles displacing his scarf to drape across his shoulders,“you’re so warm, papyrus. did you know it’s dangerous for a mortal to waltz into this realm with a soul as warm as yours?”

 

Sans advanced across the ice tower floor, and raised his hand to Papyrus’s exposed sternum. A unnatural feeling not unlike falling into the icy Snowdin pond engulfed his entire being, the surface of his bones prickling with his objection to the culmination of his being forcefully summoned. The two fought with warring intent, Papyrus slowly pressing against the mutt’s grip on his wrists until until he was unconsciously thrashing under the strain and then two things happened at once.

 

“AH-!”

 

He cried out as a sharp pain radiated from cold metallic fangs burying themselves into his neck, and his soul materialized into the cold biting air. Immediately, Papyrus shivered in response, unconsciously shrinking against his captor. The tight grip against his neck released, the feeling of magic trickling down his clavicle eliciting a whimper, and his other self licked the wound with an unseen smirk.

 

“it’s just as i told you, m’lord. have you ever seen such pure belief? it almost feels as if we could walk among mortals once more.”

 

“INDEED…” a wide grin broke out on Sans’s face, rarely seen delight pushing the corners up on his eye sockets. “I’LL BE ABLE TO PIERCE THE BARRIER AND VISIT THE MORTAL REALM! THERE… I CAN TAKE WHATEVER, OR WHOMEVER I WANT.”

 

His eyelights lit up and spun as he looked to Papyrus with possessive glee, though his grin fell to a small pout. “AND YET, WILL THERE EVER BE ANYONE OUT THERE WHO WILL BELIEVE IN ME LIKE YOU WILL?”

 

He cupped Papyrus’s soul, and Papyrus closed his eyes to focus away from the penetrating stare of the one pretending to be his brother. He heard the false Sans continue his speech as he gathered his strength like the true Undyne had showed him in training. “PERHAPS THE PUPPY’S BROTHER WILL BE WORTH TAKING FOR YOU, MUTT...”

 

_ They know about Sans?!! _

 

In the spike of distress to the apparent threat to his world, his magic responded with a gratifying ping! and a gasp from the fae in front of him as he forcefully threw his other self against the wall of the ice tower. 

 

He took the battle stance that Undyne had  taught him in their world away from the fae. Warned them desperately, 

 

“YOU’VE ALREADY FORCED ME TO USE MY ATTACK, PLEASE STOP! DON’T MAKE ME USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!” 

 

Sans, his own soul glowing blue in his ribcage, did not let go of his soul.

 

Instead, he squeezed hard, fingertips digging vicious furrows into the fabric of his being. Papyrus flinched as the sharp pain lanced through him. Unable to physically recoil from the attack.

 

Shaking, expecting his hand in front of him to crumble into dust from the unseen pressure, he raised his hand in front of him. 

 

The purple eyelights bore into his mercilessly, and purple magic begin seeping into his soul. He was suddenly filled with the urge to scream, alien intent running radiating through his mind. A flash of sunlight filtered through his inner eye, illuminating a dead and dying world. 

 

_ Dust was scattered throughout the village, and what little dust that was not scattered was gathered in little piles to be feed the fungi because that was the  _ _ only _ _ way to maintain the connection to the mortal realm. _

 

_ A world he intended to escape, pursuing that little light flickering beam of sunlight that danced. It was weak at LV 1, insubstantial, but invaluable. _

 

_ That light will dance for them, he was sure of it. _

 

Blindly, Papyrus flicked his wrist and threw his fake brother against the wall, and then flicked up like his real brother might’ve done. The creature hit the ceiling with a crack of snapping joints before hitting the floor of the constructed tower and remaining still.

 

His fae twin melted through the wall.

 

...And came up from the floor in front of him, his reflection wavering and warping in warning.

 

“I SAID STOP!!!” Papyrus shouted, taking one step back and bracing himself.

 

His magic burned with cold and forceful energy- that same energy that was now searing through the crevices of his soul’s surface and binding to it in etched arches and whorls. Papyrus had never experienced frostbite, but recognized when his HP was plummeting at an alarming rate. There was no choice.

 

He had to…

 

_ Escape-See Sans-Warn Undyne- _

 

**_Summon._ **

 

Energy whirred to life around them as teeth snapped around the slim body of his counterpart. Singular, encompassing, charging, and deadly.

 

Swallowed up by the ram’s head, the jaws opened once more only to reveal a swelling blast of citrine light. The walls around them shook as if a earthquake struck. Under the tidal roar of sound, Papyrus could almost hear the fae shout.

 

The agony ringing through his skull stopped abruptly as the tower collapsed around them.

 

Everything lurching, he felt ice crystals dance across his bones with dreamlike clarity.

 

He registered his center of gravity shifting.

 

The ground came roaring up from below.

 

The impact came as an intense startling surprise, jolting Papyrus out of the sensation of quiet dissonance. Ice followed, hailing down and hitting him and the floor of the cavern with a crystalline skittering before everything settled silently once more.

 

“Run! Run! Run you idiot, I’ve got your soul here, just run!”

 

The voice sounded urgent, and Papyrus wondered what about momentarily. Then reality followed Papyrus, crashing down with the artificial hail around them, and he struggled to his knees to reach for his soul.

 

Temmie hesitated momentarily, but at his long imploring stare, deposited the bright soul into his hands. It had clearly suffered at the hands of the fae brother, dry blue cracks running through it and orange magic oozing, but it remained intact as he rejoined with the essence of his being.

 

“Sorry, I guess even if you’ve got kind of a death wish traversing here, it’s not really… nice to wish that I could keep it for myself.” Murmured the doll, and the lonely goat child reflected in the mirror flashed in his head. He pulled Temmie into a hug, and pressed his forehead to theirs.

 

“THANK YOU.” His voice cracked hoarsely, but it was good to hear himself speak.

 

The Temmie’s face crumpled in on itself, and hiccuped a dry sob. “What are you sticking around to thank me for?! Go! They’ll recover any time now!”

 

Papyrus squeezed the doll once more, and set it down with care. With only a little regretful wave, he jogged past the frozen fae entourage around them and through the door. The second his boots were hitting wooden boards, he broke into a sprint, practically flying through the path that was quickly icing over.

 

He passed the tall grass, the long path winding, no echo flowers or water sausages to be seen but glowing mushrooms and drifting water hyacinth all around. He would not be deterred from the vaguely familiar path. Even as the purple flowers froze in place, a freezing breeze nipping at his wake, he knew exactly where he wanted to be.

 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped- the distance that the small bird was usually patrolling in his world had been closed off by ice. The fae was anticipating exactly what he was trying to do, and were doing everything in their powers to stop that.

 

The distance was so short, but the block of ice in his way was solid, even as he summoned his special attack to whittle away at it. The citrine light of the blast faded, merely liquefying the surface.

 

He could see his reflection in it, and flinched back quickly. He had to go the long way around!

 

He leaped across the distances he could on the bridge that zigzagged over freezing water, and dodged errant spears of ice that shot through the planks. He was reminded of Undyne’s training, and uttered a short silent request to borrow her strength just this once.

 

The sensation of his boots hitting solid ground was a relief, and a sign he was getting through to the next room!

 

“papyrus…”

 

His other self whispered, as his reflection ran with him across the room. A giant octopus fae remained perfectly still, tentacles and body trapped within the ice though their malevolent gleaming eyes followed the chase to the end of the room.

 

“stay with us…”

 

His breath was coming out in gasps now, sharp biting cold filling his chest. Rain should have been falling here, but the drips of water coming down from the ceiling were freezing into prismatic stalactites. 

 

Only snow followed his progress.

 

Papyrus was almost relieved when he’d reached the next bridge. This way led to the garbage dump, which was admittedly drenched in water that would soon be ice, but it led right past Undyne’s house and soon-

 

-The lantern room.

 

There, he was sure was the way out, the ring of white mushrooms that would lead him back to his world. The boards creaked under his boots with each step, and he dared to slow down for only a moment to catch his breath, bones rattling as he coughed.

 

“BROTHER!” Sans’s voice rang out.

 

He flinched.

 

“YOU’RE OUT OF YOUR HEAD, DEAR BROTHER. COME BACK HERE, WHERE IT’S SAFE.” He coaxed, and his eyelights grew bright with violet intent. Papyrus shook his head and turned to run again.

 

“I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT YOU!”

 

His footsteps were now echoed, and in his mind’s eye he could still see those purple eyes glowing bright and unnatural in his brother’s face. The ice roared up from below and his reflection flickered in each one of them, his true face streaked with tear tracks through the dirt and snow.

 

“MUTT HE’S HEADING RIGHT FOR-”

 

Then his face warped in each and every one of them, desperation being his only warning as his other self shouted, 

 

“ **_S t o p!_ ** ”

 

Distracted from his path, he tipped forward as his boot met nothing but air.

 

He toppled over the bridge head first, but instead of flowing water there was only darkness greeting him and he realized his mistake.

 

There was no Overworld to dump trash in this world, only a black hole where the fae’s glamour failed to replicate his world.

 

He fell into the abyss.

 

~

 

His every bone hurt with a fevered ache that accompanied extreme sickness, but the cool damp soil felt rather nice. He could lay here for awhile, and just… sleep...

 

“Howdy! You seem to have taken a nap in quite a inconvenient place, haven’t you?”

 

Papyrus slowly opened his eye sockets blearily, and was greeted by the sight of a golden flower smiling down at him. He sat up slowly, taking deep even breaths as he fought down his nausea. “H-HELLO… WHERE AM I?”

 

“Gee buddy, you don’t look so good. You must be in a pretty bad way to be asking a question like that. You’re lucky someone came along.” They continued, not answering him directly.

 

“WHERE AM I?” Papyrus forced out, urgency taking place of his amicable nature.

 

The flower frowned at him. “... You’re in the garbage dump. You passed out not long after leaving Undyne’s house.”

 

Papyrus heaved a sigh. “AM I STILL BEING CHASED?”

 

“By who, the fish lady?” They scoffed, but then the expression was replaced by a friendlier smile once more. “You must’ve been having a pretty intense dream. You were twitching there for awhile, like a dog chasing a bunny in their sleep.”

 

“I… DREAMT I WAS BEING CAPTURED BY MY BROTHER… AND MYSELF.” Papyrus murmured. “AND UNDYNE WAS… TO THE TEMMIES…”

 

He shook his head, unable to disclose such a horrible thought to the talking flower, “IT WAS A SCARY DREAM. IT WAS… WOULD THAT BE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO FALL DOWN HERE? EVERYONE CHASING YOU… CHASING AFTER YOUR SOUL LIKE IT WAS THE ONLY LIGHT LEFT IN THE WORLD…”

 

The flower didn’t respond for a few moments. Then, “Golly, that sounds pretty exciting, but you can’t always go taking your dreams seriously. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll help you get home safely?”

 

There was something comfortingly familiar about the flower’s voice. Somehow, he felt like he could trust them. 

 

Papyrus nodded slowly, wincing as the movement jostled a unseen soreness radiating from the back of his neck. He felt along the vertebrae under the warmth of his scarf and found that the fabric was stiff with a dried residue before tracing the source of the pain directly to the breaks buried in his bones. “I… YES. AS MUCH AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NORMALLY TRAVEL ALONE, A COMPANION SOUNDS NICE. WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

 

“I’m Flowey, Flowey the Flower.” He winked, and stuck his tongue out. “Say, would you like to be friends?”   
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, it seems that Temmie gave Papyrus the wrong impression of who to trust... But then, that might simply be fate. After all, it's not every day the fae leave their mark, now is it?
> 
> *Mwah!* That's the end of the tale, for now! If you want to read more, leave a comment! If you want to read more RIGHT NOW I have a oneshot from last summer called The Fae Ring featuring Edge wandering through the Snowdin Forest's Swap!verse fae- and it ends even worse than this, if you can believe it! At any rate, I hope you all enjoyed! I put a lot of thought into this to be honest, maybe an embarrassing amount of thought given that it's an AU only I write for haha. The universe as I have it is balanced as the Fae are the Swapverse and Swapfellverse, with Undertale and Underfell being 'the real world'. The fae have their own rules and standards, but generally wear 'glamours' that reflect the world of the mortals that wander in- which in my stories have consistently been the Papyrus' since we see them as one of the characters that exhibit an unshakable belief in the human in the game. So it tends to be a Papyrus who truly fall in when they come across those portals we call fairy rings.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Fancy seeing you here, this story actually took me ages to plan. I have all sorts of fae world ideas that built up in my head over the holidays, so I hope you enjoy! This will be a 3 chapter series like Fall, and will hopefully describe the world I've been seeing in my head very well. At any rate, this story is kind of a baby to me kind of like my Crimson Saga, so I hope you enjoy it, and look forward to the next two chapters!  
> If you'd like, you can follow me at https://agraulisvanillae.tumblr.com/ ! I receive requests rarely, and although it currently doesn't look like I respond, I'm actually just hoarding ideas and plot bunnies to unleash when I have time. So feel free to leave asks, or talk to me!


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